Winter approaching...

The last of the leaves are falling and the days are getting noticeably colder. It is rainy again (hooray!) and I am so happy to see the grass green again. It saddens me to hear about the drought in Alabama. I know I would be a basket case if I were there. I do hope they can get some rain soon. The excessive moisture here is bringing back the moss on our driveway and mushrooms are popping up all over the lawn.

I have been working my butt off at Target (literally - I have lost over 5 pounds!) but I am loving the job. It is hellacous on my poor feet but a lot of fun and my co-workers are some of the nicest people I have ever met. In the meantime, when I do have time off, I have been trying to get all of my new plants in the ground.



 
I am finally getting the front border filled in. I know it doesn't look like there are many plants here but I am actually already running out of space. I have been concentrating on the area outside of the fence. I intend to use drought-tolerant and low-growing plants along the street. I attended a lecture at Joy Creek Nursery a few weeks ago on this very topic and it was very informative.

Juniper 'Daube's Frosted' is one of the plants I am using to anchor the sides of the fence.

 

A view of the side garden, next to the driveway.

 
The plantings along the front foundation are coming along nicely. I wanted a tall, narrow camellia to help cover a broad expanse of brick on the wall. I have been researching camellias for the past several months and of course, I finally ended up choosing one that was not even on my list. 'Nuccio's Bella Rossa' is a beautiful red-flowered variety. I had my heart set on red but how it will look against this brick remains to be seen. But exactly what colors look good next to this brick? I haven't a clue!

If color clashes become inevitable, my reasoning is I will do what I have already done with about half of the things I planted back in the spring - move them to another location.

I have long lusted after this spruce (Picea 'Skylands') for a long time. I planted it on the inside corner of the fence.

There is a Home Depot across from Target and I sometimes stop by there to check out their bargains. I got this Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow' and finally got it in the ground. I think it so pretty covered in raindrops.

This is one of my favorite plants in the garden. I can see this outside our front window and it brings me immense pleasure. It also pains me that I do not have the name - all I know is that it is a dwarf pine. I got it from a nursery that did not have their plants labeled. :(

We have so enjoyed watching the hummingbirds on the back deck flitting around the cupheas. This is the only one I have in the ground and I am wondering if I need to dig it up and bring it inside during the winter. Any suggestions?

I am excited about all of my plants but particularly the California Lilac (Ceonothus). This is the one of the first plants that I saw when first visiting Portland a few years ago. They are so beautiful. This variety is 'Julia Phelps'.

Arbutus (Strawberry Tree)

And finally, the last of the roses. This is 'Tahitian Sunset'. It has several blooms right now and I cut a few and brought them in today. I actually transplanted this rose a few weeks ago (I know this is not the best time) and it seems to have not minded at all.

The first rose I planted this year in the new garden 'Lady of Shallot'.

And a note: I am highly po'd at Blogger which managed to loose my list of favorite blogs. I kept thinking the silly thing would reappear but it appears that it is gone forever. So, I will have to update it from memory. This might take a while because my memory is not the best. And no, this wasn't my fault. It happened to a lot of other bloggers and some of them had theirs to reappear. No luck here!

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy